1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mounting systems and brackets for use with mounting systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to wall mounting systems wherein brackets are securely and releasably mounted on a panel, such as a wall panel, so that various articles can be displayed or stored thereon.
2. Background Art
The prior art contains many examples of display and mounting systems that are capable of supporting various articles for storage or advertising purposes. Typical wall mounting systems that include brackets, or other display support structures, are commonly used in commercial establishments and residential homes to display or store various articles. Because of the wide demand for such wall mounting systems, inventors have expended great effort in designing and developing new and improved mounting systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,309 to Bauer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,524 to Cohen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,538 to Gambello; U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,900 to Whittington et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,379 to Morgan et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,813 to Sauer et al. disclose mounting systems which are indicative of the efforts made by prior art inventors. However, despite the past efforts of prior inventors, problems remain with respect to adequately securing the brackets or other support structures to wall mountable panels. More particularly, there has been a deficiency in adequately securing support brackets in all known prior art devices that employ detachable support brackets for display and support of articles. Thus there is a need for a mounting system in which a bracket may be securely affixed to a wall mountable panel and released therefrom only upon an operator""s positive intervention, that is inexpensive to produce, and that has substantial strength and durability for supporting articles of various weights.
The present invention meets this need by providing a bracket for use in a mounting body, such as, for example, a wall panel, that has an array of substantially vertical mounting slots. The bracket of the present invention has a planar body which has a rear portion of which at least a portion is adapted for releasable engagement with at least one of the vertical mounting slots. In one aspect, the rear portion of the bracket has an outwardly extending first mounting member having a lower edge and a spaced upper edge. The lower edge defines a first notch, formed intermediate a first corner of the lower edge and a spaced second corner of the lower edge, and a spaced second notch, formed intermediate the first notch and the second corner of the lower edge. The first notch has a seating surface. Adjacent portions of the first and second notches define at least a portion of a male retainer leg therebetween. Further, a portion of the second notch defines at least a portion of a lower tang member at the second corner of the lower edge.
The upper edge of the rear portion of the bracket defines an upper notch that is spaced from the first and second notches in the lower edge. The upper notch has opposed first and second side surfaces and a stepped base surface extending between the respective side surfaces. The stepped base surface forms a lower base surface and defines a shoulder surface that extends into the upper notch away from the lower base surface. The first side surface of the upper notch has a first distal end and the second side surface of the upper notch has a second distal end. In use, the seating surface of the first notch is preferably spaced from both the respective first and second distal ends of the upper notch a distance greater than a longitudinal slot length of one mounting slot of the panel.
Further, the male retainer leg may define a retainer tip and the lower tang member may define a tang tip. Preferably, the retainer tip of the male retainer leg is spaced from the shoulder surface of the upper notch a distance less than the longitudinal slot length. Also, it is preferred that the tang tip of the lower tang member is spaced from the lower base surface of the upper notch a distance less than the longitudinal slot length and is spaced from the shoulder surface of the upper notch a distance greater than the longitudinal slot length.